Method for generating soft decision signal from hard decision signal in a receiver system

ABSTRACT

A receiver system, which generates a soft decision signal from a hard decision signal, includes a hard output receiver for determining a received bit to generate a hard decision signal. A hard input soft output receiver determines an estimated probability of symbol data corresponding to the received bit based on the hard decision signal and generates a soft decision signal represented by a log-likelihood ratio from the estimated probability.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hard input soft output (HISO) receiver for generating a soft decision signal from a hard decision signal in a receiver system.

In the prior art, in a wired or wireless communication system, a receiver system may be a hard output receiver or soft output receiver, which checks each bit in a sequence of received signals and generates a hard decision value or soft decision value for the received bit. The receiver system further includes a soft input or hard input error correction code (ECC) decoder, which corrects errors using a decoding algorithm that corresponds to the bit decision value (hard decision value or soft decision value) output from the receiver.

FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit block diagram of a prior art receiver system 100 that uses a hard input ECC decoder 140. The receiver system 100 includes a limiter amplifier 110, a hard output (HO) receiver 120, a hard input hard output (HIHO) receiver 130, and the hard input ECC decoder 140. The receiver system 100 receives a signal Rx transmitted from a transmitter (not shown) over a wired or wireless communication channel. Then, the receiver system 100 amplifies the received signal Rx to a fixed amplitude value with the limiter amplifier 110. The Ho receiver 120 uses a threshold value to determine the reception level of the amplified signal Rx to generate a hard decision signal S_(h).

The HIHO receiver 130 estimates, based on the hard decision signal S_(h), the sign (+1 or −1) of each bit y_(k) in a reception signal sequence y (y={y₁, y₂, . . . y_(N)}) to generate a bit estimate value eu_(k). Specifically, for a hard decision signal S_(h) corresponding to bit y_(k), the HIHO receiver 130 obtains a plurality of oversampling bits by asynchronously oversampling, for example, 8 or 16 samples per bit. This improves the bit error rate (BER) caused by the influence of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), which is added to the reception signals Rx in the communication channel. The HIHO receiver 130 then calculates from the plurality of obtained oversampling bits the Hamming distance D_(h) of the sample sequence through reciprocal operations of an adder 132 and a bit counter 134. Further, the HIHO receiver 130 calculates the bit estimate value eu_(k) based on the Hamming distance D_(h) with a hard decision circuit 136.

The ECC decoder 140 performs error correction on bit y_(k) using the bit estimate value eu_(k), that is, the hard decision value output from the HIHO receiver 130. In this case, the error correction mechanism implemented by the ECC decoder 140 may be, for example, a maximum likelihood decoding (MLD) scheme that uses a hard decision Viterbi, a boundary distance decoding (BDD) scheme, or the like. In the boundary distance decoding scheme, an error correction code, such as Hamming, Reed/Solomon, Bose Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem (BCH), or the like, is used.

A decoding algorithm that uses a hard decision value, such as that of the receiver system 100 of FIG. 1 is problematic inasmuch as there is a limit to the error correction capability due to the signal-to-noise ratio and bit error ratio. Although the redundant bits may be increased to improve the error correction capability, this would lower the coding efficiency. Accordingly, to apply the receiver system to a high-speed error correction device, the use of a soft input ECC decoder that performs error correction using soft decision values, which are more accurate than hard decision values, has been proposed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block circuit diagram of a prior art receiver system 200 that includes a soft input ECC decoder 240. The receiver system 200 includes an AGC amplifier 210, a soft output (SO) receiver 220, soft input soft output (SISO) receiver 230, and the ECC decoder 240.

The SO receiver 220 includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 222, which determines the reception level of a signal RX amplified by the. AGC amplifier 210 and converts the analog reception signal Rx to a digital value (reception signal sequence y, where y={y₁, y₂, . . . y_(N)}). Preferably, the ADC 222 has an AD conversion capability of six bits or greater to ensure high level error correction. The digital signal value output from the ADC 222, that is, each bit y_(k) of the reception signal sequence y, corresponds to a soft decision value.

The SISO receiver 230 calculates a log-likelihood ratio (LLR) L_(c)y_(k), which represents the logarithmic ratio of the probability that the received bit y_(k) is +1 or −1, based on the output signal of the ADC 222 and the gain (as required) of the AGC amplifier 210. Specifically, the SISO receiver 230 calculates the Euclidean distance of the bit y_(k) and the estimate value of the bit y_(k) using a Euclidean distance calculator 232. Further, the SISO receiver 230 uses a CSI (Channel State Information) calculator 234 to calculate the S/N ratio, or channel state information L_(c) indicating the quality of the communication channel. Then, the SISO receiver 230 uses a multiplier 236 to multiply the calculated Euclidean distance by the channel state information L_(c) and obtain the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)), which is represented by equation 1 shown below. The LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) represents the sign and absolute value of the bit y_(k).

$\begin{matrix} {{L_{c}y_{k}} = {{\ln\left( \frac{P\left( {\left. y_{k} \middle| u_{k} \right. = {+ 1}} \right)}{P\left( {\left. y_{k} \middle| u_{k} \right. = {- 1}} \right)} \right)} = {{\ln\left( \frac{\exp\left( {- \frac{\left( {y_{k} - m} \right)^{2}}{2\sigma^{2}}} \right)}{\exp\left( {- \frac{\left( {y_{k} + m} \right)^{2}}{2\sigma^{2}}} \right)} \right)} = {{{- \frac{\left( {y_{k} - m} \right)^{2}}{2\sigma^{2}}} + \frac{\left( {y_{k} + m} \right)^{2}}{2\sigma^{2}}} = {{\frac{2m}{\sigma^{2}}y_{k}} = {\frac{2m^{2}}{\sigma^{2}}y_{nk}}}}}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{20mu} 1} \end{matrix}$

In equation 1, P(y_(k)|u_(k)=+1) represents the probability of bit y_(k) being received when “+1” symbol data u_(k) is transmitted. P(y_(k)|u_(k)=−1) represents the probability of bit y_(k) being received when “−1” symbol data u_(k) is transmitted. In the equation, “m” represents the average value of bit y_(k), “σ²” represents the variance value of bit y_(k), that is, the transmission noise. “y_(nk)” is the value of bit y_(k) standardized by the average value m and represented by y_(nk)=y_(k/m).

The soft input ECC decoder 240 performs error correction of the bit y_(k) using the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)), that is, a soft decision value output from the SISO receiver 230. In this case, the error correction mechanism that may be implemented by the ECC decoder 240 is, for example, the maximum likelihood decoding scheme using the soft decision Viterbi. The error correction mechanism may also be turbo decoding or low density parity check (LDPC) that performs repetitive decoding using maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) decoding or belief propagation decoding (BPD).

The receiver system 200 that uses the SISO receiver 230 requires a high performance ADC 222 (for example, ADC of six bits or eight bits or more) to ensure a high level of error correction capability and the AGC amplifier 210 to provide the ADC 222 with a signal having an appropriate level. This increases the product cost as compared to the receiver system 100 (FIG. 1). Large-scale modification is also required when the soft input ECC decoder 240 shown in FIG. 2 is applied to the receiver system 100. Such modification increases design costs and prolongs development time. Accordingly, it is desired that a receiver system capable of using a soft input ECC decoder without an ADC and an AGC amplifier be developed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description of the presently preferred embodiments together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block circuit diagram of a receiver system in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block circuit diagram of another receiver system in the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block circuit diagram of a receiver system according to a preferred embodiment of the of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block circuit diagram of a probability-LLR converter shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a decoded gain for the receiver system of the preferred embodiment and a decoded gain for the receiver system of the prior art;

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the decoded gain when the number of oversamples is changed; and

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating the linear approximation scheme using a probability-LLR converter according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the drawings, like numerals are used for like elements throughout.

The present invention provides a receiver system capable of using a soft input ECC decoder without an ADC and an AGC amplifier.

One aspect of the present invention is a receiver system for generating a soft decision signal from a hard decision signal. The receiver system includes a hard output receiver for determining a received bit to generate a hard decision signal. A hard input soft output receiver determines an estimated probability of symbol data corresponding to the received bit based on the hard decision signal and generates a soft decision signal represented by a log-likelihood ratio from the estimated probability.

A further aspect of the present invention is a method for generating a soft decision signal from a hard decision signal. The method includes determining a received bit to generate a hard decision signal, determining an estimated probability of symbol data corresponding to the received bit based on the hard decision signal, and generating a soft decision signal represented by a log-likelihood ratio from the estimated probability of the symbol data.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.

A preferred embodiment of a receiver system 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be discussed with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a schematic block circuit diagram of the receiver system 1. The receiver system 1 includes a limiter amplifier 10, a hard output (HO) receiver 20, a hard input soft output (HISO) receiver 30, and soft input ECC decoder 40. The receiver system 1 receives signals Rx transmitted by a transmitter (not shown) over a communication channel, either wireless or wired, and amplifies the reception signals Rx to a fixed amplitude value using the limiter amplifier 10. The HO receiver 20 determines the reception level of the amplified signals Rx using a threshold value and generates a hard decision signal S_(h).

The HISO receiver 30 calculates the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) L_(c)y_(k) of each bit in a reception signal sequence y (y={y₁, y₂, . . . y_(N)}) based on the hard decision signal S_(h) generated by the HO receiver 20. The LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) represents the probability of a received bit y_(k) being {+1 or −1} as described with reference to FIG. 2.

Specifically, the HISO receiver 30 performs asynchronous oversampling on the hard decision signal S_(h) corresponding to a predetermined sampling number N_(s) of the received bit y_(k) to obtain a plurality of oversampling bits.

The HISO receiver 30 then calculates the Hamming distance D_(h) for the sampling sequence of the received bit y_(k) by reciprocal operations of an adder 32 and a bit counter 34. The Hamming distance D_(h) actually represents the difference between the number of “+1” oversampling bits and the number of “−1” oversampling bits in the sampling sequence of the bit y_(k). In the present embodiment, the adder 32 determines the total value of the sampling number N_(s) of oversampling bits (+1 and −1). The bit counter 34 counts the oversampling number N_(s) of bits and holds the output of the adder 32. As a result, the output of the bit counter 34 is obtained as the Hamming distance D_(h) corresponding to the oversampling number N_(s).

The HISO receiver 30 then obtains the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) using a probability-log likelihood ratio (probability-LLR) converter 36 based on the sampling number N_(s) and Hamming distance D_(h) (and optimally, noise signal S_(wn)). The operating principle of the probability-LLR converter 36 will now be described.

The probability-LLR converter 36 first calculates estimate probabilities (a posteriori probabilities) P_(m) and Pp of the symbol data u_(k) corresponding to the received bit y_(k) according to equations 2 and 3, which are shown below, using the sampling number N_(s) and the Hamming distance D_(h). P _(m) =P(u _(k)=−1|y _(k))=(N _(s) −D _(h))/2N _(s) =m/N _(s)  Equation 2 P _(p) =P(u _(k)=+1|y _(k))=(D _(h) +N _(s))/2N _(s) =p/N _(s)=(N _(s) −m)/N _(s)  Equation 3

Equation 2 represents the probability P_(m) when the symbol data u_(k) corresponding to the received bit y_(k) is “−1”, and “m” in equation 2 represents the number of “−1” bits included in the sampling sequence. Equation 3 represents the probability P_(p) when the symbol data u_(k) corresponding to the received bit y_(k) is “+1”, and “p” in equation 3 represents the number of “+1” bits included in the sampling sequence.

The probability-LLR converter 36 then calculates L(u_(k)−y_(k)), which represents the LLR of the a posteriori probability P(u_(k)|y_(k)), from equation 4, which is shown below, using the estimate probabilities P_(m) and P_(p) (equations 2 and 3).

$\begin{matrix} {{L\left( u_{k} \middle| y_{k} \right)} = {{\ln\left( \frac{P\left( {u_{k} = \left. {+ 1} \middle| y_{k} \right.} \right)}{P\left( {u_{k} = \left. {- 1} \middle| y_{k} \right.} \right)} \right)} = {\ln\frac{P_{p}}{P_{m}}}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{20mu} 4} \end{matrix}$

In equation 4, P(u_(k)=+1|y_(k)) and P(u_(k)=−1|y_(k)) are respectively converted into the next equations using the Bayes theorem.

${P\left( {u_{k} = \left. {+ 1} \middle| y_{k} \right.} \right)} = \frac{{P\left( {\left. y_{k} \middle| u_{k} \right. = {+ 1}} \right)}{P\left( {u_{k} = {+ 1}} \right)}}{P\left( y_{k} \right)}$ ${P\left( {u_{k} = \left. {- 1} \middle| y_{k} \right.} \right)} = \frac{{P\left( {\left. y_{k} \middle| u_{k} \right. = {- 1}} \right)}{P\left( {u_{k} = {- 1}} \right)}}{P\left( y_{k} \right)}$

Accordingly, equation 4 is converted to equation 5, which is shown below.

$\begin{matrix} {{L\left( u_{k} \middle| y_{k} \right)} = {{\ln\left( \frac{P\left( {\left. y_{k} \middle| u_{k} \right. = {+ 1}} \right)}{P\left( {\left. y_{k} \middle| u_{k} \right. = {- 1}} \right)} \right)} + {\ln\left( \frac{P\left( {u_{k} = {+ 1}} \right)}{P\left( {u_{k} = {- 1}} \right)} \right)}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{20mu} 5} \end{matrix}$

In equation 5, the first expression on the right side represents the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) (refer to equation 1), and the second expression on the right side represents the LLR (L(u_(k))) of the a priori probability P(u_(k)). Thus, equation 5 can be represented by equation 6, which is shown below. L(u _(k) |y _(k))=L _(c) y _(k) +L(u _(k))  Equation 6

The occurrence probability of {+1, −1} for the symbol data u_(k) is equal. Thus, it can be concluded that L(u_(k))=0 is satisfied. Accordingly, equation 6 may be expressed in the form of equation 7, which is shown below. L _(c) y _(k) =L(u _(k) |y _(k))  Equation 7

Accordingly, the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) of the received bit y_(k) may be determined from the LLR (L(u_(k)|y_(k))) of the a posteriori probability P(u_(k)|y_(k)), which is shown in equation 4. In this case, the estimate value E(u_(k)) of the symbol data u_(k) is expressed using L(u_(k)|y_(k)) in equation 8, which is shown below.

$\begin{matrix} {{E\left( u_{k} \right)} = {{\tanh\left( {{L\left( u_{k} \middle| y_{k} \right)}/2} \right)} = \frac{{\mathbb{e}}^{{L{({u_{k}|y_{k}})}}/2} - {\mathbb{e}}^{{- {L{({u_{k}|y_{k}})}}}/2}}{{\mathbb{e}}^{{L{({u_{k}|y_{k}})}}/2} + {\mathbb{e}}^{{- {L{({u_{k}|y_{k}})}}}/2}}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{20mu} 8} \end{matrix}$

Equation 8 may be expressed as equation 9, which is shown below, when equation 4 is substituted in equation 8.

$\begin{matrix} {{E\left( u_{k} \right)} = {{\tanh\left( {{L\left( u_{k} \middle| y_{k} \right)}/2} \right)} = {\frac{P_{p} - P_{m}}{P_{p} + P_{m}} = {P_{p} - P_{m}}}}} & {{Equation}\mspace{20mu} 9} \end{matrix}$

The estimate value E(u_(k)) is determined from the difference between the estimate probabilities P_(m) and P_(p). In this case, equation 9 is converted to equation 10 by substituting equations 2 and 3 in equation 9. tan h(L(u _(k) |y _(k))/2)=P _(p) −P _(m) =p/N _(s) −m/N _(s)=(N _(s)−2m)/N _(s)  Equation 10

In equation 10, “N_(s)−2m” corresponds to the Hamming distance D_(h) (more precisely, Hamming distance difference) Equation 10 is converted to equation 11 using D_(h). tan h(L(u _(k) |y _(k))/2)=D _(h) /N _(s)  Equation 11

Accordingly, the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) of the received bit y_(k) is determined from equations 7 and 11 using equation 12. L _(c) y _(k) =L(u _(k) |y _(k))=2a tan h(D _(h) /N _(s))  Equation 12

The probability-LLR converter 36 calculates the difference D_(h)/N_(s) of the estimate probabilities P_(m) and P_(p) of the symbol data u_(k). Then, the probability-LLR converter 36 calculates the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) of the received bit y_(k) by obtaining a value that is two time greater than the hyperbolic tangent (a tan h) of the probability difference D_(h)/N_(s). In other words, the HISO receiver 30 obtains the soft decision signal L_(c)y_(k) from the hard decision signal S_(h) generated by the HO receiver 20 through reciprocal operation of the adder 32, bit counter 34, and probability-LLR converter 36. The L_(c)y_(k) has essentially the same characteristics value as the output of the conventional SISO receiver 230 described in FIG. 2.

The probability-LLR converter 36 will now be described in detail.

Referring to FIG. 4, the probability-LLR converter 36 includes a first decision unit 52, a second decision unit 54, a scaler 56, an LLR calculator 58, a white noise generator 60, a first adder 62, a second adder 64, and a multiplier 66. The structural elements of the probability-LLR converter 36 may be implemented in software operating in a microprocessor or hardware, such as an ASIC or the like.

The first decision unit 52 determines the sign of the Hamming distance D_(h) (that is, the output of bit counter 34 after oversampling) related to the probability of symbol data u_(k) to generate a sign decision signal D_(s). The second decision unit 54 determines the absolute value of the Hamming distance D_(h) to generate an absolute value decision signal D_(v).

The scaler 56 scales the absolute value decision signal D_(v) in accordance with the sampling number N_(s). Specifically, scaling values L_(s) corresponding to the maximum sampling number of the HISO receiver 30 is set beforehand in the scaler 56. The scaler 56 scales the absolute value decision signal D_(v) corresponding to the sampling number N_(s) using the scaling value L_(s). Then, the scaler 56 generates a scaled signal D_(vh), which is represented by equation 13 shown below. In the present embodiment, the scaling value L_(s) is set at “16”. D _(vh) =D _(v) *L _(s) /N _(s)  Equation 13

In one embodiment, the LLR calculator 58 is implemented with a look-up table T1 (refer to table 1 shown below) and the absolute value of the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) is derived from table T1 using the scaled signal D_(vh) from the scaler 56.

TABLE 1 (Look-Up Table T1) D_(vh) (D_(v) * 16/N_(s)) D_(vh)/16 2atanh (D_(vh)/16) 0 0.0001 0.0002 1 0.0625 0.1252 2 0.1250 0.2513 3 0.1875 0.3795 4 0.2500 0.5108 5 0.3125 0.6466 6 0.3750 0.7885 7 0.4375 0.9383 8 0.5000 1.0986 9 0.5625 1.2730 10 0.6250 1.4663 11 0.6875 1.6864 12 0.7500 1.9459 13 0.8125 2.2687 14 0.8750 2.7081 15 0.9375 3.4340 16 0.9951 6.0092

In table 1, the values in the left column are the scaled signals D_(vh). D_(vh)/16 shown in the center column corresponds to the difference between the estimate probabilities P_(m) and P_(p) of the symbol data. u_(k), that is, the probability value D_(h)/N_(s) of equation 12. 2a tan h(D_(vh)/16) shown in the right hand column is the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) derived from the probability value D_(h)/N_(s). When the probability value D_(h)/N_(s) is 0, L_(c)y_(k) also becomes 0. To prevent L_(c)y_(k) from becoming 0, D_(vh)/16 is set at “0.0001” when D_(vh) is 0. When D_(h) is 16, 2a tan h(D_(vh)/16) is set at “6.0092” so that 2a tan h(D_(vh)/16) does not become infinite.

Without calculating 2a tan h(D_(vh)/16) as shown in equation 12, the LLR calculator 58 obtains the absolute value of L_(c)y_(k) corresponding to the scaled signal D_(vh) by referring to the table T1. For example, when L_(s)=16, N_(s)=8, and D_(v)=2 are satisfied, the scaled signal D_(vh) is 4 (refer to equation 13). In this case, the LLR calculator 58 derives “0.5108” from table T1 based on the scaled signal D_(vh).

The white noise generator (WNG) 60 generates white noise WN from the noise signal S_(wn), which is provided from an external circuit (not shown). A first adder 62 adds the white noise WN to the L_(c)y_(k) (absolute value) derived from the LLR calculator 58. The L_(c)y_(k) may be randomly dispersed by the white noise addition process. This increases the correlation between the L_(c)y_(k) and the symbol data u_(k) and improves the convergence of the L_(c)y_(k).

When the output (D_(h)) of the bit counter 34 is 0, the white noise WN generated by the WNG 60 is added to the sign decision signal D_(s) by the second adder 64. Therefore, the sign of L_(c)y_(k) is randomly determined even when D_(h) is 0. The multiplier 66 multiplies the output value (absolute value of L_(c)y_(k)) of the first adder 62 and the output value (sign of L_(c)y_(k)) of the second adder 64 to generate the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)).

The soft input ECC decoder 40 performs error correction on the bit y_(k) using the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)), that is, the soft decision value output from the HISO receiver 30. For example, the ECC decoder 40 may implement the maximum likelihood decoding scheme using the soft decision Viterbi. Alternatively, the ECC decoder may implement turbo decoding or low density parity check (LDPC) that performs maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) decoding or repetitive decoding using belief propagation decoding (BPD). Accordingly, the receiver system 1 of the present invention is capable of performing a high level of error correction using an LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) such as that calculated by the HISO receiver 30 without using an AD converter and an AGC amplifier.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the coded gain characteristics of the receiver system 1.

The upper graph in FIG. 5 shows the output gain characteristics (decoder-in) of the HISO receiver 30 and the output gain characteristics (decoder-out) of the soft input ECC decoder 40. The lower graph of FIG. 5 shows the output gain characteristics (decoder-in) of the SISO receiver 230 (FIG. 2) and the output gain characteristics (decoder-out) of the soft input ECC decoder 240 in the prior art receiver system 200. The horizontal axis shows the ratio of the reception power Eb and noise output power density No, and the vertical axis shows the bit error rate (BER). As shown in FIG. 5, the BER characteristics improve when error correction is performed using the output of the HISO receiver 30 to the same degree as when error correction is performed using the output of the prior art SISO receiver 230.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the coded gain characteristics of the receiver system 1 when the oversampling number N_(s) is varied. The rightmost curve of FIG. 6 shows the output gain characteristics of the HISO receiver 30. The other curves show the output gain characteristics of the ECC decoder 40 when the oversampling number N_(s) is sequentially changed to 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 from the right. The horizontal axis shows the S/N ratio, and the vertical axis shows the BER. It is apparent from FIG. 6 that the BER characteristics are improved by increasing the oversampling number N_(s).

A configuration for an HISO receiver 30 according to a further embodiment of the present invention will now be described. In the HISO receiver 30, the LLR calculator 58 calculates the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) from the scaled value D_(vh) by implementing linear approximation.

As shown in FIG. 7, the curve of the LLR (L_(c)y_(k)) shown at 2a tan h(D_(vh)/16), for example, can be approximated as a straight line having an inclination of 2/15 using the equation shown below. L _(c) y _(k) =D _(vh)*2/15  Equation 14

The LLR calculator 58 calculates the absolute value of L_(c)y_(k) by implementing linear approximation as represented in equation 14 instead of using the above-described table T1. In this case, the LLR calculator 58 sets the L_(c)y_(k) to “0.0002” when D_(vh) is “0” and sets the L_(c)y_(k) to “6.0092” when D_(vh) is “16” in the same manner as when using the table T1. It is preferable that L_(c)y_(k) be corrected when D_(vh) is in the range of 12 to 16.

As described above, the receiver system 1 of the present invention includes the HISO receiver 30 for calculating the probabilities P_(m) and P_(p) of the symbol data uk being {+1, −1} from the hard decision signal S_(h) generated by the HO receiver 20 and converting the probabilities P_(m) and P_(p) to a soft decision signal (L_(c)y_(k)). Accordingly, the soft input ECC decoder 40 may perform sophisticated error correction using the output of the HISO receiver 30 instead of using an AD converter and an AGC amplifier.

Further, in the present invention, there is no need for drastic modifications of the receiver system 140 even when the soft decision ECC decoder 40 is integrated into the receiver system 140 shown in FIG. 1. In this case, for example, the hard decision circuit 136 shown in FIG. 1 may simply be changed to the probability-LLR converter 36 shown in FIG. 3. This controls the product cost, shortens the development time and lowers the design cost.

It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Particularly, it should be understood that the present invention may be embodied in the following forms.

The maximum oversampling number (scaling value L_(s)) is not limited to “16”.

The LLR calculator 58 is not limited to calculating a soft decision signal (L_(c)y_(k)) using the table T1 (refer to Table 1) or linear approximation (refer to FIG. 7). The LLR calculator 58 may directly calculate a soft decision signal (L_(c)y_(k)) in accordance with equation 12.

The noise addition process using the noise signal S_(wn) does not necessarily have to be implemented.

The present examples and embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalence of the appended claims. 

1. A receiver system for generating a soft decision signal from a hard decision signal, the receiver system comprising: a hard output receiver for determining a received bit to generate the hard decision signal; and a hard input soft output receiver for determining an estimated probability of symbol data corresponding to the received bit based on the hard decision signal and for generating the soft decision signal represented by a log-likelihood ratio from the estimated probability, wherein the hard input soft output receiver includes: an adder, connected to the hard output receiver, for receiving the hard decision signal; a bit counter connected to the adder, wherein the bit counter and the adder oversample the received bit using a predetermined sampling number to calculate a Hamming distance for the sampling sequence of the received bit; and a probability-log likelihood ratio converter, connected to the bit counter, for determining the estimated probability of the symbol data based on the Hamming distance and the sampling number and generating the soft decision signal from the estimated probability.
 2. The receiver system according to claim 1, wherein the hard input soft output receiver determines a first estimated probability indicating the probability of the symbol data being positive and a second estimated probability indicating the probability of the symbol data being negative, and the hard input soft output receiver generates the soft decision signal by calculating the log-likelihood ratio of the difference between the first estimated probability and the second estimated probability.
 3. The receiver system according to claim 1, wherein the hard input soft output receiver generates the soft decision signal based on the equation of L_(c)y_(k)=2a tan h(D_(h)/N_(s)), where L_(c)y_(k) represents the soft decision signal of the received bit, a tan h is a hyperbolic tangent, D_(h) represents the Hamming distance, and N_(s) represents the sampling number.
 4. The receiver system according to claim 1, wherein the hard input soft output receiver further generates the soft decision signal based on a noise signal which generates white noise.
 5. The receiver system according to claim 1, wherein the probability-log likelihood ratio converter includes: a first decision unit for determining the sign of the Hamming distance to generate a sign decision signal; a second decision unit for determining the absolute value of the Hamming distance to generate an absolute value decision signal; a scaler, connected to the second decision unit, for scaling the absolute value decision signal in accordance with the sampling number to generate a scaled signal; a log-likelihood ratio calculator, connected to the scaler, for calculating the absolute value of the soft decision signal based on the scaled signal; and a multiplier for multiplying the absolute value of the soft decision signal by the sign decision signal to generate the soft decision signal.
 6. The receiver system according to claim 5, wherein the log-likelihood ratio calculator includes a pre-recorded table of a plurality of soft decision values calculated in accordance with the Hamming distance, the sampling number, and a scaling value of the scaler, the log-likelihood ratio calculator obtaining one of the plurality of soft decision values as the soft decision signal based on the scaled signal.
 7. The receiver system according to claim 5, wherein the log-likelihood ratio calculator functions as a linear approximator for obtaining the soft decision signal that corresponds to the scaled signal.
 8. A method for generating a soft decision signal from a hard decision signal, the method comprising: determining a received bit to generate the hard decision signal; oversampling the received bit by a predetermined sampling number to calculate a Hamming distance for the sampling sequence of the received bit; determining an estimated probability of symbol data corresponding to the received bit based on the hard decision signal; and generating the soft decision signal represented by a log-likelihood ratio from the estimated probability of the symbol data, the Hamming distance and the sampling number, and wherein said generating the soft decision signal includes: determining the sign of the Hamming distance to generate a sign decision signal; determining the absolute value of the Hamming distance to generate an absolute value decision signal; scaling the absolute value decision signal in accordance with the sampling number to generate a scaled signal; calculating the absolute value of the soft decision signal based on the scaled signal; and multiplying the absolute value of the soft decision signal by the sign decision signal to generate the soft decision signal.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: said determining the estimated probability includes: determining a first estimated probability indicating the probability of the symbol data being positive; and determining a second estimated probability indicating the probability of the symbol data being negative; and said generating the soft decision signal includes: calculating the log-likelihood ratio of the difference between the first estimated probability and the second estimated probability.
 10. The method according to claim 8, wherein said generating the soft decision signal includes generating the soft decision signal based on the equation of L_(c)y_(k)=2a tan h(D_(h)/N_(s), where L) _(c)y_(k) represents the soft decision signal of the received bit, a tan h is a hyperbolic tangent, D_(h) represents the Hamming distance, and N_(s) represents the sampling number.
 11. The method according to claim 8, wherein said generating the soft decision signal further includes generating the soft decision signal based on a noise signal which generates white noise.
 12. The method according to claim 8, wherein said calculating the absolute value of the soft decision signal includes obtaining the soft decision signal corresponding to the scaled signal from a table.
 13. The method according to claim 8, wherein said calculating the absolute value of the soft decision signal includes obtaining the soft decision signal corresponding to the scaled signal through linear approximation. 